How unit 1 is examined
This unit tests grammar by "do as directed" questions; Subject-Verb Agreement, Active and Passive Voice and Sentence Structure carry the marks, and the mixed 14-mark "Do as directed" set draws on every topic.
Articles
<span style="display:inline-block;padding:.16em .6em;border:1.5px solid currentColor;border-radius:999px;font-size:.68em;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.06em;text-transform:uppercase;opacity:.75">Not asked since 2022</span>
Definition. Articles are the words a, an and the, which come before a noun to show whether it is general or specific.
Key points.
- A is used before a consonant sound and an before a vowel sound, so we say "a university" but "an hour" and "an internship".
- A/an is the indefinite article: it names any one member of a class, as in "I borrowed a pencil".
- The is the definite article: it names a particular, already known or unique thing, as in "the professor" or "the sun".
- The is used with names of rivers, seas, mountain ranges and plural country names, so we write "the Netherlands", "the Ganga" and "the Himalayas".
- No article is used before plural or uncountable nouns in a general sense, or before most names of persons and single countries.
Asked: [14 marks] (Jun 2022, Nov 2022, Jun 2023) Do as directed, article items: "_ Netherlands is a beautiful country" (The); "He completed _ internship" (an); "I borrowed _ pencil from your pile" (a); "_ professor is late today" (The)
Subject-Verb Agreement
<span style="display:inline-block;padding:.16em .6em;border:1.5px solid currentColor;border-radius:999px;font-size:.68em;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.06em;text-transform:uppercase;opacity:.75">Medium weight</span>
Definition. <mark>A verb must agree with its subject in number and person: a singular subject takes a singular verb and a plural subject takes a plural verb.</mark>
Key points.
- Subjects joined by and take a plural verb, but two words naming one thing take a singular verb.
- With either...or, neither...nor the verb agrees with the subject nearest to it: "Either my shoes or your coat is on the floor".
- A collective noun (committee, family) takes a singular verb when the group acts as one: "The committee debates these questions".
- Subjects plural in form but singular in sense (mathematics, civics, news, physics) take a singular verb.
- Pair nouns with two parts (tweezers, pants, scissors, trousers) take a plural verb.
- Amounts of money, time and distance treated as one sum take a singular verb: "Eight dollars is the price".
- Each, every, one of and everyone take a singular verb: "Each of the employees has been rewarded".
- In "there is/are" the verb agrees with the noun that follows it, and the tense must match the time marker (yesterday means past).
Example. Answers to the set:
| Sentence | Answer |
|---|---|
| Mathematics / Civics | is, is |
| Eight dollars | is |
| tweezers | Are |
| pants | are |
| there fifteen candies / only one left | were, is |
| committee | debates |
| Either my shoes or your coat | is |
| She (every morning) / They (right now) | goes / are |
| Neither Joseph nor his family | speaks |
| The cat / They (by next week) / He (before deadline) | sleeps (or slept) / have (will have completed) / will |
| The birds (in the morning) | chirp (habit) or chirped (past) |
| will pay / cat runs / hair cut / She often goes | pay, runs, cut, goes |
| My sister / yesterday / Shakespeare | works, went, wrote |
Answer frame. Open with the one-line rule; write the rule for the item beside each answer (nearest subject, collective noun, pair noun, time marker); give the completed sentence; close with "Hence the verb agrees in number with its subject".
Asked: [7 marks] (Dec 2023, Dec 2024, Jun 2025) Choose the correct verb form that agrees with the subject (Mathematics/Civics, Eight dollars, tweezers, pants, there was/were, committee, either...or), select the tense that fits the subject and time marker, and complete sentences with the correct verb form Pitfall: Choosing the verb by the nearer noun in "Each of the employees" instead of by the true subject each.
Prepositions
<span style="display:inline-block;padding:.16em .6em;border:1.5px solid currentColor;border-radius:999px;font-size:.68em;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.06em;text-transform:uppercase;opacity:.75">Not asked since 2022</span>
Definition. A preposition is a word that shows the relation of a noun or pronoun to another word, usually of place, time or direction.
Key points.
- In is used for enclosed space and periods ("in the queue", "in 2005"), on for surfaces and days, and at for a point or exact time.
- Among is used for three or more persons or things and between for two, so "divided his property among his three daughters".
- Through shows passage inside something, so "the train went through a tunnel".
- Since takes a point in time and for a period.
- A preposition takes an object, and a fixed preposition follows some words (good at, afraid of, depend on).
Asked: [14 marks] (Jun 2022, Nov 2022, Jun 2023) Do as directed, preposition items: "divided his property _ his three daughters" (among); "the train went _ a tunnel" (through); "Tom stood before her _ the queue" (in)
Active and Passive Voice
<span style="display:inline-block;padding:.16em .6em;border:1.5px solid currentColor;border-radius:999px;font-size:.68em;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.06em;text-transform:uppercase;opacity:.75">Medium weight</span>
Definition. <mark>In active voice the subject performs the action; in passive voice the subject receives the action, and the doer follows by or is omitted.</mark>
Steps.
Step 1: Find the subject, verb and object of the active sentence.
Step 2: Move the object to the front as the new subject (change the pronoun case: me to I).
Step 3: Use the correct form of be for the tense, followed by the past participle (V3).
Step 4: Add "by" plus the old subject at the end, keeping the tense.
Key points.
- Tense is never changed in conversion; only the verb form changes.
- Present simple: is/am/are + V3, and past simple: was/were + V3.
- Continuous: is/am/are being + V3 and was/were being + V3.
- Perfect: has/have/had been + V3, and future: will be + V3.
- A modal keeps its form: can/could/may + be + V3.
- To turn passive into active, the by-agent becomes the subject and the subject becomes the object.
- Imperative "Let the door be shut" becomes active "Shut the door".
Example.
| Given | Converted |
|---|---|
| The mailman was barked at by the dog | The dog barked at the mailman |
| The table was jumped on by the cat | The cat jumped on the table |
| The chef is preparing a delicious meal | A delicious meal is being prepared by the chef |
| The essay was written by James | James wrote the essay |
| The kennel was cleaned by the attendant | The attendant cleaned the kennel |
| The movie was directed by Christopher Nolan | Christopher Nolan directed the movie |
| The chemistry book was read by the students | The students read the chemistry book |
| Mr. Smith teaches me English | I am taught English by Mr. Smith |
| I will present my idea at the conference tonight | My idea will be presented by me at the conference tonight |
| Mohan will repair your car | Your car will be repaired by Mohan |
| My money has been stolen by someone | Someone has stolen my money |
| The work will be finished by me | I will finish the work |
| He taught me phonetics at the university | I was taught phonetics by him at the university |
Answer frame. Open with the definition of active and passive; give the four steps; show the tense table; then solve each sentence naming subject, verb, object; close with "The tense and meaning are unchanged".
Asked: [7 marks] (Dec 2024, Jun 2025) Change passive sentences to active voice (mailman, table, chef, essay, kennel, movie, chemistry book), and change the given sentences to active or passive (Mr. Smith, my idea, Mohan, money stolen, door shut, the work, phonetics) Pitfall: Changing the tense while converting, or writing "I" instead of "me" as object.
Reported Speech: Direct and Indirect
<span style="display:inline-block;padding:.16em .6em;border:1.5px solid currentColor;border-radius:999px;font-size:.68em;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.06em;text-transform:uppercase;opacity:.75">Low weight</span>
Definition. Direct speech quotes the exact words of a speaker; indirect speech reports their meaning without quotation marks, usually with that.
Key points.
- Remove the quotes and add that for statements; use asked with if/whether for yes-no questions and with the wh-word for others.
- With a past reporting verb, tenses shift back: am/is becomes was, present perfect becomes past perfect, simple past becomes past perfect.
- Pronouns change by sense (my to his), and now/here/today become then/there/that day.
- Questions become statements in order ("why I had not phoned him"), and Oh no! becomes "exclaimed with sorrow".
Example.
- He said, "His horse died in the night." He said that his horse had died in the night.
- She said, "Oh no! I missed the train." She exclaimed with sorrow that she had missed the train.
- He said, "I have lost my mobile phone." He said that he had lost his mobile phone.
- "Why haven't you phoned me?" he asked me. He asked me why I had not phoned him.
- He said to me, "What are you doing?" He asked me what I was doing.
- She asked whether we would come. She asked, "Will you come for the party?"
- The educator said to Paul, "If you do not finish your project, I will call your mother." The educator told Paul that if he did not finish his project, she would call his mother.
Asked: [7 marks] (Dec 2023) Give passive/indirect forms: Nishkarsh is playing football (passive: Football is being played by Nishkarsh); They were doing good work (Good work was being done by them); Sam has written a letter (A letter has been written by Sam); and the three indirect speech items above Asked: [14 marks] (Jun 2022, Nov 2022, Jun 2023) Do as directed: indirect speech, supply a verb (Each of the employees has; Logistics is), punctuation ("The recipe required flour, sugar, eggs and cream."; "I cannot afford a house in Bangalore, so I am moving to hometown."), voice (She was being examined by the doctor; The problem could be solved by him; Could I be helped by you, please?; By whom can my question be answered?), and error correction ("am liking" to "like"; "was hearing" to "heard", as stative verbs take no continuous)
Sentence Structure
<span style="display:inline-block;padding:.16em .6em;border:1.5px solid currentColor;border-radius:999px;font-size:.68em;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.06em;text-transform:uppercase;opacity:.75">Medium weight</span>
Definition. <mark>A sentence is a group of words with a subject and a predicate that expresses a complete thought; the most common structure is Subject-Verb-Object (SVO).</mark>
Key points.
- The subject is who or what the sentence is about, and the verb states its action or state.
- The object receives the action of the verb: "Janet borrowed books".
- The complement completes the meaning of a linking verb: "She is a doctor".
- The adverbial adds time, place or manner: "Janet went to the library yesterday".
- The elements are abbreviated SVOCA and follow the order Subject, Verb, Object, Complement, Adverbial.
- By function a sentence is declarative (statement, full stop), interrogative (question), imperative (command or request) or exclamatory (strong feeling, ends with !).
Example.
| Sentence | Type |
|---|---|
| Pass the ball | Imperative |
| Should I call or email you? | Interrogative |
| I have been visiting this temple since 2005 | Declarative |
| What a great car you have! | Exclamatory |
| Janet went to the library to borrow some books | Declarative |
| The water was so cold that we could not swim in it | Declarative |
| The little girl started crying when she couldn't find her toy | Declarative |
Answer frame. For the elements question open with "The most common English sentence structure is SVO", list S, V, O, C, A each with a one-line example, and close with the sentence "Janet(S) borrowed(V) books(O)". For the identification question write each type with its reason.
Asked: [7 marks] (Jun 2023) Identify the following sentences as Declarative, Interrogative, Exclamatory or Imperative (Pass the ball; Should I call or email you; I have been visiting this temple since 2005; What a great car you have; Janet went to the library; The water was so cold; The little girl started crying) Asked: [7 marks] (Dec 2024) What is the most common sentence structure? What are the elements of a sentence? Write.
Last-minute revision
- A verb agrees with its subject in number and person; with either...or, neither...nor it agrees with the nearer subject.
- Mathematics, civics, news are singular; tweezers, pants, scissors are plural.
- Each, every, one of take a singular verb.
- Passive = be + V3; the tense of be matches the tense of the active sentence.
- Present continuous passive is "is/am/are being + V3".
- Indirect speech: past reporting verb shifts tense back, and that/if/whether replace the quotes.
- Among is for three or more, between for two.
- A/an by sound: an hour, a university.
- Stative verbs (like, know, hear) do not take -ing forms.
- The most common sentence structure is SVO; the elements are SVOCA.
- Four sentence types: declarative, interrogative, imperative, exclamatory.
Memory hooks
- SVOCA: "Some Very Old Cats Ate" for Subject, Verb, Object, Complement, Adverbial.
- Nearer noun wins: either/or and neither/nor follow the closest subject.
- Passive formula: "be + V3, then by".
- Between two, among many.
- Stative verbs are "still": no -ing.
Coverage checklist
- Articles: article items of the 14-mark "Do as directed" (Jun 2022, Nov 2022, Jun 2023).
- Subject-Verb Agreement: 7-mark verb-agreement set (Dec 2023, Dec 2024, Jun 2025).
- Prepositions: preposition items of the 14-mark "Do as directed".
- Active and Passive Voice: 7-mark voice conversion set (Dec 2024, Jun 2025).
- Reported Speech: Direct and Indirect: 7-mark set (Dec 2023) and 14-mark "Do as directed" (Jun 2022, Nov 2022, Jun 2023).
- Sentence Structure: sentence types (Jun 2023) and SVO elements (Dec 2024).